Heap O' Scraps to Cute Wallets with Snaps

OK. So my title is a little cheesy, but I had fun turning the heap of scraps from Friday's post into these lovely little ditties:

This one has a four inch zipper and a little rosette. The asymmetrical seam between the white daisies and brown leaf fabric adds interest (or makes it look a little lopsided...I haven't decided which). 

And I love this little blue card wallet (perfect size for credit cards, business card, ID or cash...or all of the above). I embellished the side with a little ruffle that wraps around to the back.

I had a lot of fun turning random scraps in to little pouches of wonderfull-ness. 

--Sarah

Heap O' Scraps

My mom, Cindy and I had our weekly meeting on Wednesday to brainstorm new looks, order new fabric (so excited to share this with you when it arrives!) and create a plan of action to prepare for our Holiday Craft Fair schedule.

There are a few exciting things in the works, including some very cute and festive (but not overly cliche- Christmassy) fabrics. When it comes to choosing fabrics I like to choose things that are not so "literal" in their interpretation: for example "girly" doesn't always have to be pastel pink and purple or floral a. You can probably see evidence of this theory in some of the fabric selections we have already made. And we've applied the same idea to the Holiday fabrics we have chosen: you won't find any red or green or snowmen or Santas (thank goodness!). Be sure to stay tuned for previews and finished products!

I love our brainstorming meetings because I leave feeling inspired. This time I left not only with inspiration but with a whole heap of scraps too (you might recognize some of our dress and tunic fabrics in this mix). Today I plan to make something of them. Check back later to see what comes of all these little pieces of goodness!

--Sarah

Holiday Craft Fair Schedule

Both my Mom and I will be busy bees these next few weeks as we prepare for all the holiday craft fairs we will be attending. If you live in New Hampshire and Southern Maine and want to shop local this Christmas then get out your calendar and mark down these dates:


Saturday, November 6th: 9am-3pm, Coe-Brown Northwood Academy Fall Craft Fair (held at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy on Rt. 4 in Northwood, NH). This is a juried craft fair, so expect some top-notch items!


Sunday, November 21st: 10am-3pm, Greenland Women's Club Craft Fair and Pie Sale (held at Greenland Central School, 70 Post Rd. Greenland, NH) This too, is a juried craft fair. 


Saturday, December 4th: 9am-3pm, From the Studio: Artists Market and Sale (held at the Kittery, ME Lions Club, 117 State Rd. (Rt. 1) Kittery, ME). This is also a juried craft fair.


And you can always find our clothing and accessories at Lucy's Art Emporium in Dover, NH and online at our Etsy Shop. But we'd love to meet you! So come on out this holiday season and explore your local craft fair scene!


--Sarah

Fall Fun

Fall is in the air, crisp only in the 40's,  and it is  "raining" leaves, soon the trees will be bare, and we will settle in for our LONG winter.

One of the things I love about fall is apples, they are crisp, juicy and make wonderful pies, crisps, and sauce.  Love it!!  


Notice in the background the MO in the window, here is the whole thing.

  My son made this for me when he was 11 or 12, and it has hung in my kitchen ever since.  He turns 30 next week.   WOW!! 

Fall brings out the sweaters!  

Sophie in the sweater I knit last spring

We went to Polly's Pancake Parlor, way up in Sugar Hill, NH, you should check it out if you are ever in Sugar Hill.  They have THE BEST pancakes!

Sophia enjoying her pancakes

Fall also means pretty colors and a full wood pile

My husband said he saw snow in the air today, he loves the thought, because he loves to ski.  I love to ski, but I also love the warmer weather.  It will be a long winter, I am glad that I will be busy sewing, oh and planning my youngest daughters wedding in February.  

Happy Fall

Cindy

Key Chain Lanyards

In my past life I was an English Teacher (this "past life" was before I had Sophia). When I was a teacher I had KEYS! Keys to classrooms and resource rooms and offices and...well lots of keys. I've started working again at a job that requires KEYS! So I decided that instead of toting them around on a little key chain in my pocket, I'd make something a little more stylish and eye catching and "at-hand" rather than "in-pocket."

And this lanyard is what I came up with:

This is what it looks like on:

I've already gotten quite a few comments at work.

These lanyards would make a perfect "teacher-gift," or stocking stuffer for a nurse or mom. Anyone with KEYS!

--Sarah

Chair Pad Preview

I did a little sewing yesterday, but only after I took a walk in the woods (one last look at the leaves before the rain and wind knock them all down today) with Sophia and my husband, Mark. 

Here's a little sneak peak of the chair pad I've been working on for our Eddie Bauer High Chair. Yesterday I started on the binding, I'm hoping to finish it today.

More to come when it is done!

And here's a look at our walk in the woods:

She looks grumpy, but really she had fun;-)

--Sarah

Putting it Off 'till Tomorrow

So...I haven't made too much progress on any of the things I listed in Monday's post. The past three days have been simply G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S! Really. Beautiful New England fall days, where the sun is warm and the breeze is crisp and the sky is so blue that it makes the leaves on the trees look like fire. 

Instead of sewing Sophia and I went hiking. It was a good choice. Considering we're expecting a Nor' Easter up in these parts: which means 4 solid days of rain and wind. And by the time the storm passes through all the leaves will be knocked out of the trees, the color will be gone and it will be barren and gray and November. 

 View from the top of Mt. Major in Gilford, NH looking out over lake Winnipasaukee.

 Looking towards Wolfeboro Bay in Winter Bay.

Sophia looks out at the changing leaves.

I decided the sewing can wait 'till the rain starts, then I'll have all my bright fabrics to cheer me up.

--Sarah

Up-Coming Projects

So this past week has been a little slow in the sewing-lane for me, but I've got quite a list of new projects for myself for the coming weeks:

• finish a chair pad for our Eddie Bauer high chair (complete tutorial coming too!)
• make a bunch more burp cloths
• try making a zippered pouch with some laminated fabric
• experiment with different sized wallets and business card holders
• and make a few pillow covers

My goal for this week is to finish the chair pad and the tutorial that goes along with it, and hopefully get to a few burp cloths too. By the time I finish the things on this list it will be time to think about making Christmas presents...or maybe I should start on that now. It's not too far away you know!


And you know what Christmas means? Surprised, happy faces like this one:

 ...and this one

 and these...

I can't wait!
--Sarah

Fall In New England

I'm a summer girl for sure. But I do have a special place in my heart for fall in New England. It was one of the things I missed most when my husband and I lived in Arizona. Some of the best things about fall are all the fairs and festivals anything that gets you outside enjoying the colors of the changing leaves.


What makes this fall so special is that we get to take Sophia on all kinds of fall adventures, and at ten months she is just getting to the age where her curiosity is peaked by just about everything: and it shows on her face.

So far we've been apple picking...

Mmmm tasty!

...and the Deerfield Fair!

--Sarah

The Dress

Obviously I haven't posted any pictures of me from the wedding this past weekend in "the dress." Needless to say I did not wear it. I never had time to finish it, with all the prep for the centerpieces. But I thought some of you might like to see how it turned out...

Remember this was my inspiration:

And this is the 3/4 finished results:

What I envisioned was a knee length skirt (got that) that had elegant draping from one side to the opposite hip (what you see is pinned into place and more awkward than elegant and the side seam bulky and yucky-looking). 

Here it is with the crushed velvet which I was going to sew into a belt and attache to the dress at the waist (it just tied in the back in this picture).

Better...but still.

Now I know it doesn't look THAT bad from these pictures but let me point out a few things that you can't see that well in these mirror shots.

The seams on the back are uneven (slightly skewed to the left) making my but look lopsided. It's hard to see it in these pictures because of the lighting and the fact that I'm trying to take a picture of my back in a mirror, which is harder to do than you think.

And that side seam with the draping is bulky.

Also you will notice there is NO ZIPPER OR BUTTONS. This makes for a very awkward on/off routine that involves eeking my shoulders through the waste then smooshing my boobs down in order to pull the dress in to place. Now the reason for the no zipper is that I'm lazy, also my original plan involved a gathered skirt not a fitted one (but that looked worse) so I never bought a zipper in the first place.

So as it is the dress is "unfinished." The draped portion is still not sewn into place (just pinned for the picture):

 So I have several options: 

1. Finish the dress and wear it somewhere (other than around the house).

2. Take the sweater vest off the top of the dress, buy a ZIPPER, get un-lazy and add the zipper to the skirt and re-do the side seams to center the darts on the back.

3. Take the dress apart completely and re-use the plaid for something else: like a bag or a skirt for Sophia. 

What do YOU think I should do?

--Sarah

The Wedding Reveal

Saturday turned out to be an absolutely beautiful fall day: perfectly clear blue skies, crisp warm air, and light breeze that made the colorful leaves dance down from the trees. I spent a good part of the morning setting up and arranging the decorations at the reception sight and this is how they came out:

Here's a look at the center pieces from a distance.

And here's a closer look: check out the great photos from Emily and Jay's engagement photo shoot with Deborah Zoe Photo.

Here's a close up: those are electric candles in there. Love them. Great way to uplight the branches.

These were on the cocktail tables. 

  This was the dessert table.

Here's a look at the layout under the tent. Love the lanterns!

 We kept it simple on the cafe tables with just mason jars and votive candles. And that's my husband building the fire for the s'mores. 

The glowing fire...

The glowing tent...

 And the glowing bride and groom.

It was a happy day for sure!


--Sarah